Burnout
“No one is immune to stress and burnout. The expectations are so much connected to comparison. Don’t compare your life to someone else’s highlight reel.”
Anna Doecke
I was recently interviewed by Celia Fielke from Lutheran Media and Messages of Hope about competing demands and the challenges of recognising and dealing with burnout.
What can contribute to burnout?
Comparison is such a massive issue in our society and it can contribute to burnout. As humans our default is to compare our boring everyday lives with the highlight reel of someone else’s life (particularly on social media). In her book, ‘The Gifts of Imperfection’, Brené Brown writes “I can’t tell you how many times I’m feeling so good about myself and my life and my family, and then in a split second it’s gone because I consciously or unconsciously start comparing myself to other people.”
Laura Williams says “comparison is the thief of happiness.”
How do you know you’re at burnout?
It’s different for everyone, but some examples include when all the days roll into one, or you aren’t interested or enjoying your work anymore when you always have, or feeling hazy and over tired.
What do we do about burnout?
Make different choices. We all have choices and we have the power to change the way our life is. It sounds simple, but it’s so true.
Reviewing our values can remind us about what’s most important and who we want to be as well as help to overcome burnout. Having clarity of values and making different choices can change our life significantly. It helps us know how we feel about life and have clarity of where we’re at in our relationships.
As a Christian this concept of burnout can be even more challenging as we grapple with where God stands and what He thinks of us and our service to Him. Sometimes I think we have a warped sense of who God is. Sometimes we can think that He won’t love us unless we serve and serve and serve, until we can’t serve anymore.
The truth is that there is nothing we can do that is going to make God love us any more than He already does. How does that change your life and view of God?
Have a listen to the full interview about burnout by clicking here.
Take care on the Journey as you discover where you’re at in life. If you think you might be experiencing burnout click here to schedule a counselling appointment and discover what beliefs and behaviours you can change to alleviate the pressure and give your best to yourself and those around you.
